The skull bones of a new born infant are separated from each other by membranous intervals, termed fontanelles. In a normal infant these spaces are gradually filled in by an ossifying process although this can take one to two years for completion.
In the meantime, the skull can become misshapen from repeated pressure on the same area of the skull. The condition, known as positional plagiocephaly, can occur when, for example, an infant favors sleeping in the same position most of the time or spends too much time with his or her head flattened against a crib mattress or the back of an infant car seat or carrier seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,281, granted Nov. 19, 1974 to Dixie I. Mathews for "Apertured Article and Protective Cover Therefor" discloses a donut shaped cushion touted as an infant head rest. However, the patent is directed primarily to the cover system for the cushion and because the cushions disclosed have substantially uniform, rectangular cross-sections the cushions do not conform well to the cranial and neck regions of an infant.
The "Infant Support Pillow" disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,134 granted Nov. 16, 1993 to Susan H. Matthews is intended to support the entire body of an infant or the upper torso of an older child. The patent is concerned with preventing tilting movement of the child and no reference is made to cranial distortions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,691 granted Oct. 21, 1986 to Martha S. and Gilbert L. Monti for "Support Pillow" discloses several pillow configurations which go around the neck to cushion the head and neck when the child falls asleep and the head falls to the side or forward.
There continues to be a need for a cranial support system which can be relied on to substantially reduce and possibly prevent positional plagiocephaly in infants.